Clock keeps ticking on 24

Real-time drama still draws viewers

Kiefer Sutherland, left, and William Devane in 24: Live Another Day. The world has changed, but many of the issues raised in 24 have not.

It wasn’t just the ratings, or the fact that viewers are talking about Jack Bauer again.

If anyone wanted evidence that interest in the cult counterterrorism thriller 24 never died but just faded away for a while, it came the week following the June 16 episode of the resurrected 24: Live Another Day.

At the end of that hour, the fictional U.S. president, James Heller (William Devane) was presumed dead, killed in a rogue drone strike.

24 had just done something it hadn’t done during the eight seasons it aired between 2001 and 2010: killed a serving U.S. president who was still in office.

Or did it?

A TV promo for the following week’s episode that supposedly aired in Argentina — where 24: Live Another Day airs Tuesday nights, concurrent with the North American broadcast schedule — showed Heller to be very much alive and well.

The promo was promptly posted on SpoilerTV.com, where it provoked a firestorm of protest from fans angry that a spoiler from half a world away had ruined the surprise.

There was a rumour that the spoiler might be fake, but as viewers who watched the following week know, Heller did indeed survive.

The bigger picture is that, four years later, viewers around the world are still watching and talking about 24.

Live Another Day ends its shortened 12-episode summer run July 14, but that may not be the end for the show. In a recent conference call with reporters timed to coincide with the series’ 200th episode — but prior to the spoiler controversy — 24 co-creators Robert Cochran and Howard Gordon hinted that 24 might return in the not-too-distant future, but perhaps without Kiefer Sutherland in the lead role.

While they always believed 24: Live Another Day would find an audience — even though it had been five years since a new episode aired — they admitted to being surprised at the fans’ fervour.

The world has changed, but many of the issues raised in 24 have not. If anything, the threat of terrorism, unauthorized government surveillance and black ops drone strikes have become more pronounced.

“I can promise you that when we started this show, this kind of thing never entered our minds,” Cochran said. “In the beginning we were just trying to get to Episode 2, and the fact we got this far is incredible.”

24 has become synonymous with the character of Jack Bauer.

“I think it’s because he’s a guy who we like to feel is out there, protecting us from bad people in the world and bad things,” Cochran said.

“He’ll do whatever it takes to protect us, at whatever cost to himself. He’s willing to sacrifice himself for the greater good. It may be partly wish fulfilment, but it’s a wonderful wish to have fulfilled, that there’s someone out there, or people out there, who are willing to do anything to protect the rest of us. That makes him a very attractive character.”

Attractive, but not indestructible.

“Four years ago, I would have said that Jack Bauer’s not coming back would have been about as definitive as it gets,” Gordon said. “So I think we’ve learned to never say never. I also think everybody is feeling the bruises and wear-and-tear that doing the show takes, so right now is probably not the best time to answer that.”

Bauer aside, 24 could always return next summer with a new lead character.

“It’s a possibility,” Cochran admitted. “There are no specific plans right now, but it’s the kind of thing we’d certainly consider.”

Gordon said 24’s real-time format is every bit as important to the series’ success as its leading player.

“Jack Bauer is an amazing character,” Gordon said. “But the format itself is very sturdy and durable. We have no plans, as of yet. But if a story presented itself to us, or we thought of one, we’d all be open to it.”

“I don’t think we should answer that, except by letting people see the show,” Cochran added. “That’s a question we ask ourselves all the time in the story room, though: What is Jack’s ultimate fate? Can he achieve some kind of peace and personal happiness, or is that simply not his destiny? We ask that question all the time.

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